WHERE IS YOUR SECURITY?
Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever. Heb. 13:8, Phillips.
Many people find security in living predictable lives. As such people group together, a kind of socially accepted rigidity may result, a conventionalism that defies changes. This is true among Christians as well as in other levels of society.
With all good intentions, Christians tend to seek traditional concepts of systematic theology rather than a vital, spontaneous friendship with a Person. Security often comes through behavioral conformity rather than in knowing that God is totally trustworthy (and fantastically innovative!) in His dealings with mankind. Sadly, they limit themselves as they limit their willingness to see how infinitely ready God is to interact with His erring children.
We read that "Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever." Does this imply that He always uses the same methodology, always requires the same responses from His followers? If so, here is ground for the endless calls to reform that include long dresses and primitive living styles as exampled by godly men and women of the past century.
If the sameness spoken of by Paul refers to God's character, it is altogether a different matter. Well might we find security in knowing that God always is waiting to forgive our stubborn ways, that He never tires of hearing our prayers. No matter how far we've strayed from His good plan for our lives, no matter how long we've absented ourselves from His presence, when we desire to find Him again, we shall discover that His attitude toward us has never changed. And, friends, that is security!
But what of "the old paths" we are admonished by God to ask for in Jeremiah 6:16? Does this prove that conformity to established religious patterns will bring "rest for [our] souls"? Or is this simply counsel for those who have lost their way, as had ancient Israel? There is a difference between finding your way back and forging ahead with God as your guide.
Even "baby" Christians should be taught that their security rests in who God is, not in how He may have chosen to act in any particular instance. To teach otherwise is to leave them vulnerable when God doesn't act in a manner that we think He should--according to how He acted in the past. How much better to trust a Person, rather than to try to figure out what the Person may do next.
Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever. Heb. 13:8, Phillips.
Many people find security in living predictable lives. As such people group together, a kind of socially accepted rigidity may result, a conventionalism that defies changes. This is true among Christians as well as in other levels of society.
With all good intentions, Christians tend to seek traditional concepts of systematic theology rather than a vital, spontaneous friendship with a Person. Security often comes through behavioral conformity rather than in knowing that God is totally trustworthy (and fantastically innovative!) in His dealings with mankind. Sadly, they limit themselves as they limit their willingness to see how infinitely ready God is to interact with His erring children.
We read that "Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever." Does this imply that He always uses the same methodology, always requires the same responses from His followers? If so, here is ground for the endless calls to reform that include long dresses and primitive living styles as exampled by godly men and women of the past century.
If the sameness spoken of by Paul refers to God's character, it is altogether a different matter. Well might we find security in knowing that God always is waiting to forgive our stubborn ways, that He never tires of hearing our prayers. No matter how far we've strayed from His good plan for our lives, no matter how long we've absented ourselves from His presence, when we desire to find Him again, we shall discover that His attitude toward us has never changed. And, friends, that is security!
But what of "the old paths" we are admonished by God to ask for in Jeremiah 6:16? Does this prove that conformity to established religious patterns will bring "rest for [our] souls"? Or is this simply counsel for those who have lost their way, as had ancient Israel? There is a difference between finding your way back and forging ahead with God as your guide.
Even "baby" Christians should be taught that their security rests in who God is, not in how He may have chosen to act in any particular instance. To teach otherwise is to leave them vulnerable when God doesn't act in a manner that we think He should--according to how He acted in the past. How much better to trust a Person, rather than to try to figure out what the Person may do next.
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